I'm considering putting a wooden privacy wall in front of my sliding glass door. Would this actually help to make the room cooler? Just to clarify, this is in a rental apartment, so I can't make any permanent changes. The door gets a lot of sun exposure most of the day here in South Florida and I want to see if this will help with the heat.
3 Answers
It's tough to give a definite answer without more details. In the past, I dealt with issues around a door like that, and found airflow was a bigger problem than the door itself. Insulating can definitely help, but first, make sure that's the main issue you're facing. If airflow is fine, a privacy wall might only help a little, especially if the sun hits your door hard.
A wooden wall might provide some marginal benefits, but if you really want to block out the heat, thick, light-blocking curtains would be your best bet—if you can install them without violating your lease. There are also external solar shades that could help by blocking the sun before it reaches your window!
If you hang curtains properly, they can make a noticeable difference! I found that even having mine just resting on the floor and extending past the window helped a lot when I opened them. So, it might be worth looking into some curtains if that's an option.